New Delhi, Aug 21 (Inditop.com) India’s Vishnu Vardhan stayed on course to win second successive International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament at the DLTA complex here, taming the promising Dutchman Peter Lucassen 6-4, 6-2 in $10,000 event Friday.
The top seeded Indian faces in Saturday’s final second-seeded South Korean Kim Young-jun who dispatched third-seeded Chris Eaton of Britain 6-3, 6-3.
The 22-year-old Andhra boy came up with a solid all-court game to take the sting out of fifth-seeded Lucassen’s strong baseline play and kept the 21-year-old Dutch on his toes.
The Indian’s booming serve remained the high point of his game, invariably bailing him out of tight spots. Vardhan managed an early break and that was enough to take the first set in the tenth game.
An under-pressure Lucassen succumbed to errors in the second set, dropping his serve in the first game when he mishit a forehand and again in the sixth. The Dutch saved four matchpoints in a prolonged seventh game before holding, but that proved to be a temporary reprieve as Vardhan served out the set and the match in an hour and 27 minutes.
“This was one of the best matches I have played on these courts. Lucassen is a strong back-court player and I knew I have to make him chase the ball, else he could be dangerous. I had to play aggressively and I am glad that I was able to do so,” Vardhan, who won the last ITF here in July, said.
“My feet finally moved well today. I faced a few break points in the match, but my serve came to my rescue. I can now see a realistic chance of winning the tournament.
“I am just focussing on improving the quality of my game. I now want to focus more at the Challenger level. My recent outing at the Challengers in Brazil was a great learning experience, even though I did not do well,” he said.
rounak